A death

It is with great sadness we share the news that Brigitte Smith
passed away on May 1, 2009 at age 74. Brigitte was an Associate
Paintings Conservator at the MFA Boston from 1975 to 1995. With her
lively intellect and wit, she was a wonderful colleague and friend
to many MFA staff.

After receiving a degree from Parsons School of Design in New York,
Brigitte trained in conservation at the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard
where she continued to work for a number of years before joining the
MFA. During her twenty years at the Boston museum, Brigitte examined
and treated a wide range of American and European paintings,  many
of those treatments in preparation for the reopening  the museums
Evans Wing in l986.  In addition,  Brigitte was involved in numerous
exhibitions, including Monet Unveiled, A New World: Masterpieces of
American Painting 1760-1910; The Lane Collection: 20th Century
Paintings in the American Tradition; Monet in the 90's; and The Lure
of Italy. During her long career, she helped train and mentor many
young paintings conservators, including Rhona MacBeth, Head of
Paintings Conservation at the MFA,  and Rita Albertson, Head of
Conservation at the Worcester Art Museum. Brigitte was a Fellow in
the American Institute for Conservation.

Brigitte is survived by her beloved daughter, Francesca McInerney,
three step children and four step grandchildren. Her life will be
celebrated in a private memorial with family and friends.


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 22:66
                   Distributed: Tuesday, May 12, 2009
                       Message Id: cdl-22-66-001
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